Berks, Montgomery County men audition for 'Idol,' but the joke's on them

It's obvious that Benjamin Gaisey and Brett Holt were shown so the judges could make fun of them.

January 17, 2013|By John J. Moser, Of The Morning Call

The good news: Two people from area counties showed up on the premiere episode of Season 12 of "American Idol" on Wednesday.

The bad news: Neither is going to the Hollywood round. Both were joke contestants never meant to win.

Both Benjamin Gaisey of Sinking Spring, Berks County, and Brett Holt of Willow Grove, Montgomery County, were shown trying out at "American Idol" auditions in New York.

Each ended up getting 31/2 -minute profile segments on the two-hour Fox-TV show.

Gaisey, 27, a sales consultant, was outrageous. He showed up for the audition wearing a wig of loose curls and a red plastic leather outfit that looked like Michael Jackson's "Beat It" video. Gaisey even said it was an old Halloween costume.

He sang snippets of Boyz II Men's "I'll Make Love to You" and Mario's "Let Me Love You" in a flat voice, personalizing the lyrics to judges Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey. It caused judge Keith Urban to hide under the table.

A telephone number listed for Gaisey reached a recording saying it had been disconnected. Fox-TV publicist Kristen Osborne said she could not immediately reach Gaisey for comment.

Holt, 28, a liquor store clerk, was making what he said was his seventh audition for the show. His singing on Nat King Cole's "When I Fall in Love" was flat and off key. But it was obvious he was chosen so the judges could make fun of him. His segment was presented as a series of "dreams" in which the judges raved over his audition. Their "real" reaction was quick rejection.

Neither of the auditions was shown in premieres of the episode screened to the Philadelphia-area media last week.

But the two auditions indicate the path "Idol" is on this season. In the premiere, only one "real" contestant was shown in the show's first 31 minutes. And while the judges raved over the woman, Shira Gavrielov, 23, she had a whiny, nasally voice. Minaj called her "superstar" and said her voice "works so good for your tone."

There was one contestant who was good: Angela Miller, an 18-year-old Katy Perry look-alike who belted out "Mamma Knows Best" by another Katy Perry wannabe, Jessie J.

But Carey was correct this time, saying Miller has "real tone," which is missing in a lot of new music.